Don't Go To Church - Part 1

 

Recently, my Session was inspired by an article entitled, “Don’t Go To Church, Be The Church.” It explained that faith does not consist of occupying a pew on Sunday morning. Faith is about what we do out in the world every day of the week.

But as much as we understand the “don’t go to church, be the church” philosophy, we don't always follow it when we seek new church members.  The goal of evangelism in most churches is quite simply to fill more pews. We might initially attract folks through fellowship or mission activities, but the aim is to parlay that relationship into a regular presence on Sunday morning. In short, despite our own belief in “being the church,” we tell our new folks that what matters is “going to church.”

This disconnect happens because Christianity in America is in a time of transition. For much of the 20^th century, the church and its influence permeated every aspect of society. To speak of “being the church in the world” was nonsensical, since nearly everything and everyone in that world was already Christian. “Going to church” was more appropriate, with the “church” being the building and the worship service itself.

Today, we are moving rapidly into a post-Christian era. Each year, the church grows less and less influential on the culture as a whole. As we move from the center to the periphery, the notion of “being the church, not going to church” begins to make perfect sense. In a culture that largely does not know Christ, the need to be a witness beyond the walls of the church building is suddenly relevant.

In many ways, church members are aware of this transition from Christendom to the post-Christian era. Their laments include the end of prayer in schools, loss of Sabbath, and the fact that many of their neighbors don’t belong to a church and don’t want to. Essentially, they are in a prolonged grief process over the death of Christendom.

Most often, though, the change that concerns them the most is that their 20- and 30-something children don’t go to church anymore.  This is where the disconnect becomes most pronounced, and where it ties back into the way we approach evangelism. The way we think about attracting new members suffers from the same deficiency as the way we think about the younger generations that the church is losing.  

On the one hand, there is the recognition that the changing times call for a new philosophy of “being the church” - which points to a whole new realm of new strategies and practices.  On other hand, however, and at the points where the transition becomes most emotional, the tendency is to revert to the old understanding that “going to church,” that presence in Sunday worship, is what defines our faith.

(In Part 2, I will examine one way we can overcome the old attitude of “going to church.” We can give folks permission not to attend Sunday worship.)